The present invention relates to a method of storing data on a recording tape.
Data is generally stored on tape interspersed with formatting keys that are subsequently used to facilitate access to the data. These keys may be pre-recorded on the tape or written to tape at the same time as the data.
It is known to carry out read/write tests on the tape drive upon loading of a tape and such tests are normally carried out in a region of the formatted section of the tape set aside for this purpose. Access to this test region therefore requires the drive to search for the appropriate formatting keys; this can take a significant amount of time.